The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

Humor is a funny thing, but what makes things funny? Why does humor exist? What purpose does it serve?I find the concept of humor extremely interesting because it is so bewildering. It just does not make any sense. There does not seem to be any intrinsic value to humor. As far as we know, animals do not seem to laugh. Some say humor is a coping mechanism. Others say it’s a bonding technique. These make some sense, but to me they are not satisfying answers.So I picked up the book The Humor Code hoping to learn more about what makes things funny. Professor Peter McGraw and journalist Joel Warner travel the globe looking for answers. Their adventures take them to Denver, Montreal, Denmark, Palestine and other locations around the world in order to understand the nuances of humor.I found the book to be pleasant, but it definitely did not meet my expectations. I was looking for a more in depth look into the constructs of humor, not an Amazing Race type trek throughout the continents.McGraw and Warner do quickly settle on a theory of humor called the “Benign Violation” theory. It is an interesting theory and I wish they spent more time testing the theory and finding challengers.Perhaps, trying to understand humor is a lot like explaining a joke; it kind of ruins it.

I bought this book because I really like humor and want to be funny.The book starts well but later on becomes a travelogue.Many passages could have been cut down and focused more on the message of what is humor in different settings.If you want to skip the travelogue just read chapter 9,p. 199.I really applaud the authors' quest to learn more about humor but the book could have been written more concisely. Also, I would have appreciated if there was more research based evidence.

It was a story on the quest for humor. I thought it was going to be their research into cracking the humor code. Not the adventure they took. Just plain boring story and writing and book all together.

More shameless "look at me" from the selfie-generation. It's like reading someone's diary . . . sans the interesting bits.

Not perfectly written. And probably more info on just these two guys' trip around the world than actual scientific exploration of humor. But when they do talk about what actually makes something funny, and how we might begin to define "comedy," the book is interesting and presents some well organized ways to think about the concept. At the end of the day, however, comedy is probably more art than science, and this subjectivity poses a somewhat impossible task to the books' authors. Nice effort, but doesn't quite take me all the way there.

I thought this would be more of a scientific understanding of humor but this is soft science. His 'research' is more common sense than studied. He tries to simplify all of humor into one universal theory but only succeeds in dumbing it down. His theory is useless because there are so many variables. If you are a robot with Aspergers and looking for an understanding of humor this book is for you. If you are like 99% of humans with a sense of humor DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.

Nice book to illustrate the science behind humor. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of the authors. There is a sense of authenticity to the work. This theory is cool. Any one trying to create humor for their speeches should take a look at this theory. Good stuff.

The theory is explained thoroughly, but could also be told in one chapter. A lot of tales are told around it and that distracted somewhat from the contents. The info is also to be found around the internet in blogs or Tedx of mr Graw.I'm glad I read it, but wouldn't buy it again.

I was predisposed to like this prose after learning of the author whilst listening to Dan Arielly's Coursera course on irrationality. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to find it pedestrian prose written by quotidian penmen. There are few good ideas but they are couched so desultorily that they lose their impact. Perhaps the prof's publications contain less bromide?

Got bored and didnt finish reading

The title of this book should be: what makes things funny? - as it doesn't deliver on the promise of a humour code. It talks about and tries to put into practice the benign violation theory. Or as it could be called - jokes as harmless infringements. I found the final chapter most interesting while the road trip parts have too much detail and are quite boring. If you are really into how humour works, this book is worth reading. It's funny that Joel Warner writes the book but Peter McGraw gets his first name first in the author credits. This book doesn't crack the humour code, although it does point out some of the elements that makes things funny.

...oder genauer gesagt: EINE Regel? Dies herauszufinden ist das Ziel des Psychologen McGraw und des Journalisten Warner. Sie starten mit einer Theorie über Humor (Kurz gesagt: Humor ist die Schnittstelle zwischen "harmlos" und "Regelverletzung") und reisen dann um die Welt, um Komiker, Comiczeichner und Satiriker auszufragen, aber auch um den Fragen nachzugehen, ob Humor gesund macht (im Amazonas helfen sie als Clowns bei der Arbeit mit Armen) und was an den Mohammed-Karikaturen denn jetzt eigentlich den Effekt hatte, den sie hatten.Das Buch ist gefällig geschrieben und natürlich (?) sehr interessant, in dem Sinne, das man recht viele interessante Details und Leute kennenlernt. Aber gerade am Anfang ist es auch sehr unbefriedigend: Hier reden die beiden Autoren zwar mit sehr vielen Leuten, aber es kommt eigentlich zu keinem echten Ergebnis. Hinzu kommen zwei etwas merkwürdige Kapitel: Erst fahren sie tagelang in Tanzania herum, auf der Suche nach einer mysteriösen Lachkrankheit, um dann zu schließen, dass ihnen die Lösung dafür (Massenhysterie) bereits vor dem Besuch von einem amerikanischen Spezialisten mitgeteilt wurde. Und in Japan kommen sie zu keinem Ergebnis, weil ihnen offenbar erst dort auffällt, dass man Humor nicht versteht, wenn man die Sprache nicht kennt und keinen Übersetzer dabei hat.Doch danach geht es aufwärts: Die Kapitel sind konkreten Fragen gewidmet und sie besuchen die richtigen Leute, so dass es auch tatsächlich ein Ergebnis gibt. Das errinert fast an die hervorragenden Bücher von Mary Roach. Aus diesem Grund kann ich das Bich guten Gewissens allen empfehlen, die gerne über die merkwprdigen Verhaltensweisen des Menschen aufgeklärt werden (Siehe auch z.B. Wiseman)...

a fine book, seeking to emulate things like Tipping point or a short history of nearly everything. Interesting stories but falls short. Fine to pass the time.